"She just had to leave me all this stuff, didn't she?" the well-dressed man sighed. He was standing before a big pile of boxes that had been inadvertently bequeathed to him.

A few months prior, the man's aunt had been at work when a robber came in and shot her. The murderer had been apprehended, and paramedics had promptly arrived, but it was too late. The man's aunt quickly died of her wounds. Since his aunt had no kids of her own, and her sister (who was the man's mother) had died of breast cancer the year before, the man ended up getting his late aunt's stuff. Why had he not bothered to actually go through it until now? For one thing, he'd never much liked his aunt. For another, he was the CEO of a science and research facility, which meant he was very busy. But now it was time to sift through his aunt's old junk and see if he could find anything of value.

The man opened the first box and saw nothing of interest. Just a bunch of boring tax forms and company paperwork from the bookstore his aunt had managed. He shunted the box aside and went to the next one. This one was sealed off with packing tape, which meant the man had to get a knife to open it. But here he found some more interesting stuff. There was a potion-making kit, an old spellbook, and glass beakers wrapped in bubble wrap. This wasn't a surprise to the man. He was aware that his aunt had been a witch, and this was part of why he'd stayed away from her. But he faltered when he saw a small notebook lying atop a stack of glass phials. It had a green cover and was bound by a thin metal spiral. It probably only cost eighty-three cents. On the cover, however, it had the words "Mirna Abbot's Diary" written in Sharpie.

"No way," the man chuckled. "Mirna actually kept a diary." He picked up the diary and flipped through it, wondering what a woman in her fifties could possibly have been writing in a diary about. But when he skimmed through the last few entries, he stopped cold. According to her diary, Mirna had cursed a young man named Gene who'd sexually harassed one of her employees. As punishment, Mirna had turned Gene into a girl named Genesis so she could learn a lesson about respecting women. What's more, she'd used a mass memory-altering spell so that the rest of the world would remember Gene as Genesis. As if that wasn't bizarre enough on its own, Mirna had written in her final entry about how she was considering whether it was a good time to change Genesis back. The entry was dated October 30, 2023-the day before Mirna was killed.

"Wait a minute," the man thought to himself. "Does this mean she never got to change Genesis back?" Come to think of it, one of the paramedics who'd been on the scene reported that a young lady had come rushing in while they were putting Mirna on a stretcher. The young lady had demanded Mirna for something, but Mirna had declined. The paramedic had sounded unsure of what the young lady was talking about. But now the man had a good idea.

"Genesis Rookwood," the man said to himself. "I think you might be the solution to all my problems."

***

Genesis could not have been happier.

It was just a few weeks before she and her stepsister Ramona Dunby had led their cheerleading squad to victory at the regionals. This was the first time in years that Eastern Plains High had won the cheerleading regionals, and it was a moment of glory for everyone involved. Suffice it to say, Genesis had become a celebrity at school.

On the afternoon of Thursday, January 18, 2024, Genesis had gotten her lunch and was going to sit down at her lunch table. She and Ramona had a table of their own in the cafeteria where they sat with their friends. Today, all the regulars were there-Ramona, Charlotte, Cassy, and Modesty.

"Hey girl!" Charlotte said when she saw Genesis.

"Hi Charlotte," said Genesis. She sat down with her sandwich and bag of chips. "How are you doing?"

"Pretty well," Charlotte answered. "Gary Frank just asked me out."

"What did you say?"

"I told him I'd think about it."

Genesis laughed. "Good answer," she said.

Modesty looked Genesis up and down like she was seeing her in a new light. "Hey, um...Genesis?"

"Yeah?"

"Is it true? That you were...you know..."

Genesis looked at Ramona. "Did you tell her?"

Ramona shrugged. "I figured she deserved to know."

"Know what?"

"That you used to be a boy."

Genesis sighed. Since the witch who'd turned her into a girl had used a mass memory altering spell, almost no one outside Genesis and Ramona's family knew that she used to be Gene. Charlotte and Cassy knew, but Genesis hadn't been counting on telling Modesty-at least, not yet. "Yes, it's true," she said.

"Wow," said Modesty. "Did...you not want me to know?"

"No, it's okay," said Genesis. "Ramona's right. If you're part of our friend group, then you have a right to know the truth."

Ramona breathed a sigh of relief. "I was worried you'd be mad," she said.

"It's okay."

"So you're, like, actually a girl who used to be a boy," said Modesty. "And not a trans girl, either. You got a full physical sex change."

"Yes, I did. At first I didn't like it, but now...I love it."

"You're like those girls who defeated those witches."

"Who?"

"You know. Lanie Evans. Olivia Walker. Zoe Fletcher. Saige Johnson. Rachel Miller."

"Oh yeah..." said Genesis. Like everyone else, she'd heard the story. A year prior, it was made public knowledge that there was a group of misandrist witches who wanted to turn all the world's men into women, and a bunch of their victims had banded together to stop them. A lot of the people who'd worked to bring down the witches had been in the same situation as Genesis. They were once teenage boys who, by various magical means, were turned into girls. They'd come to terms with their new lives, of course, but they knew not everyone else would be able to adjust to life as a woman. Hence why they'd put an end to the witches' schemes.

"Do you ever think about, you know, going down to meet them?" Modesty asked.

"I mean...it would be pretty cool," said Genesis. "But we're in Virginia. Lanie Evans and Rachel Miller live down in Georgia. Zack-slash-Zoe Fletcher is in Kentucky, and Olivia Walker is in Illinois. And...that's where Saige Johnson lives too, right?"

"It's where she's from," said Ramona. "But I'm pretty sure she's still doing college in Massachusetts."

"Well, that's what I'm saying," said Genesis. "They all live pretty far away from here. It would be kind of expensive to travel all the way to even one of those states just to meet them."

"Maybe you could ask your parents," Cassy suggested. "Maybe they can take you as a gift for graduating in a few months."

Genesis smiled. "I think I might," she said.

Just then, an announcement came over the loudspeaker. "Would Genesis Rookwood please come to the front office?" said the voice of Mrs. Agnes, the school's vice principal.

All eyes turned to Genesis. "I...guess I'd better go to that," she said.

***

When she got to the office, Genesis was greeted by her homeroom teacher Mr. Aaron. "Good afternoon, Genesis," said Mr. Aaron. "The principal would like to speak with you about something."

"Uh-oh," said Genesis.

"Don't worry, you're not in trouble," said Mr. Aaron. "In fact, you'll find it's quite the opposite..."

Genesis entered the office of the principal, Mrs. Velasco. She'd seen Mrs. Velasco on numerous occasions before, but she was surprised to see someone else sitting beside her desk. It was a man in his mid-thirties dressed in a beige suit coat and matching pants. He had light Caucasian features, smooth black hair, and teeth brushed so white it would've made a dentist swoon. "Good afternoon," the man said in a smooth baritone. "You must be Miss Rookwood."

"Uh...yeah," said Genesis. "And who are you?"

"This, Genesis, is Mr. Lucas Jacobson, founder and head scientist of Pride Laboratories," said Mrs. Velasco. "I'm sure you've heard about our school's internship program working with his facility to provide him with potential candidates for him."

"I have read your transcripts," said Lucas, "And I must say, I'm very impressed with what I've seen. You have a 3.6 GPA, and you're part of the cheerleading squad that just won the regionals. Am I correct?"

"Yes."

"Well, based on your transcripts, I think you'd be a good fit for the internship that my laboratory offers," said Lucas. "What the internship entails is helping with laboratory experiments and procedures. My facility specializes in genetics, so you'll learn more about the genomes of humans and related living beings. You'll have laboratory staff overseeing you as you do your job-unless, of course, you end up being my personal assistant."

Genesis didn't know what to say. She'd never been that into science, but on the other hand, doing an internship might look good on her college applications. "Do I get paid?" she asked.

"Yes, you do," said Lucas. "A lot of internships for high school students are nonpaying, but that is not the case with my facility. You will be paid thirteen dollars an hour for your work."

"Okay," said Genesis. "And I'm guessing it'll be an after-school thing?"

"Of course," said Lucas. "We'll have you work three days a week, from 4:00 to 8:00 PM. And, if you put in a good performance, we'll have you work on weekends, too."

"Then I accept," said Genesis. "Is there any paperwork that I have to do?"

"Well, since you're eighteen now, you don't need your parents to sign any sort of permission form," said Mrs. Velasco. "But yes, there will be some paperwork to fill out before you can start working."

"Alright then," said Genesis. "It's a deal."

"Excellent!" Lucas exclaimed. "Thank you so much for accepting my offer. We'll look forward to having you work with us."

Genesis nodded. "And I'll look forward to working with you," she said, since it seemed like a polite thing to say.

"You'll contribute a lot, I know it," said Lucas. He leaned back, still smiling, and said more softly to himself. "Yes, you most certainly will contribute a lot..."

To be continued...

Genesis' first day at the internship was Monday, January 22, 2024. After school got out, Ramona gave her a lift right from the school to the Pride Laboratories building. The building was located at the edge of the city, right where the freeway went out into the countryside. It was two stories high, with two smokestacks sticking out of the top and a billboard sign with a big rainbow on it.

"Wow," Genesis said when she saw it. "That's...some building."

"Yeah," Ramona agreed.

Genesis looked at the big billboard sign. "'Pride' Laboratories..." she said. "You think they have some kind of LGBTQ thing going on?"

"Maybe," said Ramona. She looked at her stepsister supportively and said "You got this, Genesis."

"Yep," Genesis said, exhaling deeply. "Thanks for the ride. I'll see you tonight."

Genesis got out of Ramona's car and went up to the front of the lab. She knocked on the door, and it was answered by a man in a white lab coat. "Good afternoon," the man said. "Are you Miss Rookwood?"

"I am," Genesis answered.

"Excellent. I'll show you to your work."

Genesis followed the man as he led her inside and down a corridor. The corridor quickly led to a research room full of microscopes, computers, test tubes, computers, cold storage containers, and more computers. Scientists were milling all about the room, working on studying DNA samples and entering information into their computers. There were also a few people around Genesis' age, too-presumably more interns.

"So this is one of our research labs," the scientist said. "What we do here is research the genomes of animals and compare them to the human genome."

"So we work on genetics here?" Genesis asked.

"Yes," said the scientist. "I'll have Jesse here explain it."

Right on cue, one of the interns came up to them. He looked to be about Genesis' age. He stood a couple inches taller than her, and he had curly blonde hair and a couple acne scars on his face. "Hey there," the guy said. "My name's Jesse Pindle. And Mr. Jacobson assigned you to work with me in the lab."

"Okay then," said Genesis. "So...what are you gonna have me do?"

"Come on, I'll show you." Jesse led Genesis to a table full of DNA samples that were being examined under microscopes. "You see, what we have here are some samples of human's and animals' DNA. Our job is to examine them and find any similarities that we can. Our goal is to figure out a way to make the animal DNA compatible with that of a human's. Mr. Jacobson's goal is to create a serum that, when injected into a human's bloodstream, will alter their DNA and give them certain traits that an animal has."

Genesis made no effort to hide how weirded out she was. "You mean...he wants to give people...I don't know...bird's wings? Or bear's fur?"

"No," said Jesse. "Did you notice the name of our company? Pride Laboratories? Or that there was a rainbow billboard outside?"

"Yes."

"That's because Lucas Jacobson wants to aid the LGBTQ community," Jesse explained.

"How is giving people animal DNA going to help the LGBTQ community?"

"Let me give you a hint," said Jesse. "The DNA we're studying is from clownfish. Does that help?"

Genesis thought for a moment. She thought back to Fifth Grade, where there was a unit where she (or, since this was when she was Gene, he) and his classmates had to do a report on a sea creature of their choosing. And one of Gene's classmates had chosen the clownfish. "Is it about the gender-changing thing?"

"Yep," said Jesse. "Clownfish are sequential hermaphrodites. Basically, all clownfish are born male, but they will become female as they mature."

"They don't show you that stuff in Finding Nemo," Genesis said with a smirk. "Or Finding Dory."

"I know," said Jesse. "The question is, why doesn't Pixar make a Finding Marlin? Where Marlin goes through some kind of gender crisis when he has to become female?"

"That would be pretty interesting," said Genesis. "Better than making another Toy Story."

"They should've ended it at 3," said a scientist that was walking by.

"No, 4 was good," said Jesse. He turned back to Genesis and said "I'm sorry, what were we talking about?"

"You were telling me about clownfish DNA," said Genesis.

"Right," said Jesse. "What we're developing is a serum that gives a person the ability to change their gender. Mr. Jacobson's hope is that, by studying the DNA of clownfish, we can discover the DNA coding that allows for the hermaphroditism and figure out how to insert it into the human genome. If successful, this serum will be beneficial for trans women or men who want to physically transition to the other gender."

"So, like, a full physical gender change," said Genesis. "Like, giving them...everything, if you know what I mean." She almost said like what happened to me, but that was out of the question.

"That's the hope," said Jesse. "Now, let's get started, shall we?"

***

Genesis was kind of excited at first, but studying the DNA genomes turned out to be kind of boring. They were just sort of scanning in the DNA helixes and then examining them for long stretches. Jesse taught her a lot of the basics of DNA studies, but even then, Genesis felt kind of overwhelmed. If this was what being a scientist was like, then she probably wouldn't want to pursue it as a career.

Fortunately, they got a break after a couple hours. Once she'd reached a good stopping point, Genesis went down to the employee break area and sat down with the sandwich she'd brought for herself. When she was halfway through it, Jesse came in and sat down next to her.

"You tired?" Jesse asked.

Genesis nodded as she chewed her sandwich.

"Me too," said Jesse. "Studying DNA can be tedious."

"How long have you been here?" Genesis asked.

"Almost two years," Jesse answered.

"Two years?" Genesis asked.

"Yeah," said Jesse. "Ever since I started high school, I've been doing a lot of work and volunteer stuff."

"Oh, really? You trying to get into Harvard?"

Jesse laughed. "Yes, I do want to look good when I apply for college," he said. "That is part of it."

"What's the other part of it?" Genesis blurted out. But when she saw Jesse's smile fade, she immediately regretted it.

"It's...kind of personal," said Jesse.

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay," said Jesse. But from the paid in his eyes, it did not seem okay.

Genesis hesitated before speaking again. "I know you just met me," she said, "But you can trust me."

"Really?"

"Yes. I have my secrets, too."

Jesse sighed. "Well, when I was a kid, I had a friend named Randy," he said. "He and I were really tight. We first met in third grade, and we hung out every week all the way through middle school. But then, in Seventh Grade, he died."

"Oh..."

"Or so I thought."

"Huh?"

"Right after Randy died, a girl named Rachel showed up at my school," Jesse explained. "She acted really weird around me, like she knew me even though I didn't know her. But then she told me that she was actually Randy. A witch had found him after his family died in the fire and turned him into a girl so he could be enlisted in her all-girls foster home."

"Really?" Genesis asked.

"I know, it's crazy," said Jesse. "When she told me who she really was, I was so angry. I'd thought Randy was dead, and I was really torn up about it. I even spoke at a memorial that was held at school for him. But then it turned out Rachel was lying to me the whole time."

"Ouch."

"Yeah. When she opened up to me, I flipped out at her. I...said some things...that I really regret. We fell out, and we did not get better. Then she ended up leaving the city when the whole Pretty And Pink thing fell apart."

"Wait. Rachel, Pretty And Pink...are you talking about Rachel Miller?"

Jesse nodded.

"Oh my gosh," Genesis gasped. "You actually knew Rachel Miller!"

"Yeah, I did," said Jesse. "After we fell out, I thought I could find new friends. But I didn't. I started to feel really lonely at school. And I realized that, since Rachel was still trying to adjust to her new life, she'd probably been trying to reconnect with someone from her old life to help her. But I pushed her away. And, since she went to a different high school from me after we graduated middle school-and my family and I moved to Virginia after my Freshman year-I never even got the chance to apologize to her. It made me feel even more guilty."

"That's why I started getting involved with so many volunteer and extracurricular programs," said Jesse. "I wanted to try to distract myself from the pain. It does keep me busy-and, like you said, it's definitely gonna look good on my college applications. But there are still times when I feel kind of lonely."

Seeing Jesse so sad and wrapped up in his painful memories moved something inside of Genesis. She'd been a man before, and she knew firsthand how vulnerable men could really be on the inside. Many of them tried to act strong and hardworking, but it was really just a front to hide their insecurities. "I'm so sorry," said Genesis. "But you know, it's not too late to try to make up with Rachel."

"How? She lives in a totally different state. And she's practically a celebrity now. Who knows if she even remembers me?"

"You never know," said Genesis.

Jesse sighed. "I wish I could go up to her and tell her how sorry I am," he said. "But I can't. At least, not right now..."

Genesis nodded understandingly. "Well, if you ever need someone, I'm right here," she said. Just to emphasize her point, she hugged Jesse.

"Thanks, Genesis," said Jesse. "I'm glad Mr. Jacobson assigned you to work with me."

"Me too," said Genesis. "He seems like a good man."

If only Genesis knew how badly that assumption would come back to haunt her.

To be continued...

For the rest of the week, Genesis continued working at the internship with Jesse. Most of that time was spent teaching Genesis more about how genomes worked, and how to identify what parts of the genome corresponded with what features an organism had. Genesis tried to be receptive to what Jesse was teaching her, but it felt like a mountain of information to comprehend. She felt like it would take years before she could call herself a certified geneticist.

At the end of the week, however, things got a little stranger. After she'd been working with Jesse for an hour, Lucas Jacobson came to watch what they were doing. "Hey guys," said Lucas. "How's your research going?"

"Pretty good," said Jesse. "We've found the part of the clownfish genome responsible for their hermaphroditism. At least, I think we have."

Lucas looked over the nucleotides that were showing on the computer hooked up to the microscope they were using. "I see," he said. "This might be an important step, guys. We've already found the part of the human genome responsible for what gender a developing fetus takes upon in its mother's womb. If we can figure out how to replace that with a gender-changing genome, then we'll be able to develop our serum."

"Will we actually be putting clownfish DNA in the serum?" Genesis asked.

"It's likely," Lucas answered. "Or perhaps we'll use DNA from frogs, a la Jurassic Park. Or some other animal that exhibits hermaphroditism." He straightened his tie and turned to face Genesis. "But for right now, Genesis, I need to have a talk with you in my office."

"What?"

"Don't worry, you're not in any trouble," said Lucas. "In fact, you'll find it's quite the opposite."

That should've reassured Genesis, but instead, she felt really confused. She followed Lucas out of the research lab and into his office. Once he'd closed and locked the door, Lucas sat down at his desk. "So, Genesis," he said. "Or should I say...Gene."

Genesis' heart stopped. Ever since that witch Mirna had turned her into a girl, she had never heard anyone call her by her male name. Except her parents and stepsister, but even then, they'd adjusted to calling her by her female name fairly quickly. "What? Gene?"

"It's your old name, is it not?" Lucas asked.

"I...don't know what you're talking about," Genesis lied.

"Yes, you do," said Lucas. "Up until last summer, you were a boy named Gene Rookwood. Until you sexually harassed your girlfriend Cassy, and when you went to Cassy's job to yell at her, Cassy's boss-who was a witch-turned you into a girl to teach you a lesson."

Genesis' jaw dropped. "How do you know all that?" she asked.

"Because Mirna was my aunt."

If Genesis was shocked before, it was nothing compared to this. "You're her NEPHEW?"

Lucas nodded. "I'm going to be honest with you. I never liked Mirna. When she and my mother were growing up, they never got along. Even when my parents had me, and we had our obligatory visits with Mirna, I found I didn't get along with her either. As time went on, we saw Mirna less and less. The last time I saw her was a year ago, at my mother's funeral. I thought that would be the last time I'd ever see her-and, as it turns out, I was right. A few months ago, Mirna was shot and killed by a robber at her job."

"I know," Genesis said sadly. She still remembered marching down to the mall to demand Mirna to change her back into Gene, only to arrive at the scene of Mirna's death. At the time, Genesis had been so wrapped up in the grief over her own situation, she hadn't given much thought to how Mirna's family would react. Or, for that matter, whether Mirna even had any family.

"Since I'm Mirna's only surviving relative, her belongings were automatically bequeathed to me," Lucas went on. "Being a scientist, I'm naturally curious, so I started going through her stuff to see if I could find anything of use. And I found that she kept a diary."

"Mirna? She kept a diary?" Genesis snorted in disbelief.

"Yes, I thought it was strange, too. But her last few entries talked about you. And that was what made me realize you were the solution to all of my problems."

"How so?"

"Well, I don't know if Jesse has told you this, but I am a closeted trans woman."

Genesis stared at Lucas. This whole situation was just getting weirder and weirder. "What?"

"All my life, I've dreamed of being female," said Lucas. "But I can't."

When Genesis didn't reply, Lucas continued. "Ever since I confided my desires to my mother, she encouraged me to seek out a gender therapist, and to look into getting hormone replacement therapy. But I knew such things would be for nought. Contrary to popular belief, trans women are not women. They are merely men that have changed up their wardrobe and gotten some extreme body modifications."

"But...they identify as women..."

"It does not matter. A trans woman is, biologically, a man. No amount of estrogen pills can change the Y chromosome to an X. And, even for the trans women who are deluding themselves, 'transitioning' is a long and hard experience. Hormone replacement therapy can be very expensive, and gender reassignment surgery even more so. To make matters worse, such surgeries can go horribly wrong. All these procedures to try to change your gender are a lot more trouble than they're worth because, again, you cannot change your biological gender.

"That's the reason for my studies here at Pride Laboratories. I hope that I can develop a serum that actually can change a person's biological gender. It will be a much cheaper and easier option than having surgery that might not even be effective. Don't you agree?"

"I mean...I guess," said Genesis.

"Then you'll understand why I'll need some of your DNA."

"What?"

"You are a human who's had their biological sex changed, are you not?" Lucas asked. "We're looking to create a serum that changes a person's biological sex. If we're going to use any organism's DNA, it should be yours."

"But...I was changed magically," said Genesis. "This is supposed to be a science lab, isn't it?"

"To quote Arthur C. Clarke, 'magic's just science we don't understand yet.'" He pulled out his cell phone and pressed the button to turn the screen on. "Ten thousand years ago, the people of our world might've considered this action to be magic. But we do not, do we?"

"No."

"Exactly. You might've been changed 'magically,' but I'm convinced your DNA might still hold secrets for us to find. And, to get a sample of your DNA, I'm going to ask permission to draw some of your blood."

"Well...about that..." Genesis stammered.

"What?"

"I actually have a medical condition," Genesis explained. "When I was twelve, my doctor told me I had a rare form of anemia where my body doesn't produce red blood cells quickly enough. So if I try to donate blood, it could lead to low blood pressure and potential organ failure."

"Well, we'd need at least a cup or two of blood to obtain a viable genome..."

Genesis shook her head. "Even that might be pushing it," she said.

"Are you sure? I can cover any medical bills that arise as a result of our tests."

"Look, can't you just go to someone else who was magically transformed?" Genesis asked. "Like those girls that made the news last year? Olivia Walker, Rachel Miller, Saige Johnson?"

"Do you think I want to ride the coattails of existing celebrities?" Lucas asked. "No. When this serum is patented, I will become a hero to the trans community. And I do not want to depend on other people's glory for it. I want to be famous solely for what I did. And if I use a DNA sample from you, someone who hasn't found themselves in the public eye..."

A rock fell into Genesis' stomach. "So that's why you hired me on," she said. "You wanted to...exploit me!"

"Well, now, 'exploit'-that's a bit harsh," said Lucas.

"No," said Genesis. "You only wanted me for my DNA. You just want to be the guy who out-of-nowhere came up with a way for trans women to become 'real' women. All by using me."

"Miss Rookwood, you don't understand how much I've yearned to be a woman for the better part of my life."

"Trust me, it's not as awesome as you think," said Genesis. This was somewhat stretching the truth, since she'd actually grown to like life as a girl, but she wasn't about to tell that to Lucas.

"Genesis, please," said Lucas. "I'm sorry for not...presenting myself as well as I could've, but..."

"No. That's it. I'm done here. I am quitting the internship." And with that, she left Lucas' office.

For a minute, Lucas just sat there, dumbstruck. "I should've known this wouldn't work," he grumbled. He'd waited a week before asking Genesis for her DNA because he was hoping he'd be able to build up a feeling of trust for him. But it appeared that that hadn't worked. "Well, if she won't do it willingly," Lucas said as he pulled out his phone again, "Then I guess I'll have to take some more extreme measures."

To be continued...

"So you quit the internship," said Reginald.

"Yes, I did," said Genesis. She was sitting at the dinner table with her dad Reginald, stepmom Paulette, and stepsister Ramona, having just told them about what had happened with Lucas at Pride Laboratories.

"You know, most people don't quit jobs or internships without putting in a 2-week notice," said Reginald. "That would be the professional thing to do."

"I know," said Genesis. "But now that Lucas Jacobson has shown his true colors..."

"Do you think he'll still try to get you to give him your DNA?" Paulette asked.

"I don't think he can," said Genesis. "I'm not under his employment anymore, so..."

Paulette shook her head. "Well, I don't like the sound of Mr. Jacobson," she said. "I think, going forward, you should be very careful. If you see anything unusual, do not hesitate to call 911."

"I won't," said Genesis.

***

Nothing unusual happened over the weekend. By the time Genesis got to school on Monday morning, she'd mostly stopped worrying that Lucas Jacobson would come knocking on her door. But she should've known better to be lulled into a false sense of security.

After her Homeroom class, Genesis made a detour to the office. Mr. Aaron had given her some paperwork that he needed to get to the principal, but he was too busy to deliver himself. So Genesis went to the office to hand the folder of paperwork to Mrs. Velasco. After that, Genesis got sidetracked again when she ran into Charlotte, who was going to need a ride to cheer practice after school, and therefore needed to coordinate with Genesis so she could hitch a ride with her and Ramona. Genesis had barely finished talking to Charlotte when the bell rang, indicating that First Period had officially started.

"Oh, shit," said Genesis.

"Sorry to hold you up," said Charlotte.

"That's okay," said Genesis. She turned and left to go to her First Period class. However, once she got to the building where her First Period class was held, she heard an alarm go off over the loudspeaker.

Genesis' heart stopped. She knew that alarm. Her school had done several intruder drills, and they'd trained the students to recognize the "shelter in place" alarm. She hadn't heard anything about a drill being planned for today, so this must've been the real deal. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her to her First Period classroom. "Let me in!" she cried, banging on the door. But there was no answer. "Come on, please!" Still nothing.

Genesis cursed. No one in the classrooms would let her in. They'd been drilled on what to do if there was an intruder in the school. Every student and teacher was told not to open their locked doors if someone came banging and begging to come in. She was going to have to find somewhere else to hide. She looked around frantically and saw the bathrooms right down the hall. She ran for the bathroom, threw the door open, and entered. It took her a moment to realize that it wasn't all stalls. There were urinals, too. That meant she'd gone into the boys' bathroom.

"Oh my..." Genesis laughed in spite of the circumstances. She'd actually walked into the boys' bathroom! She'd been using the girls' bathroom for so many months now, the boys' one felt almost foreign. Which was weird, since this was the bathroom she'd used when she was Gene. Genesis thought of the celebrities Saige Johnson and Zoe Fletcher, who'd been turned into girls when they accidentally went into enchanted bathrooms at school. Except...this bathroom wasn't enchanted, was it? Would it turn Genesis back into Gene? But when Genesis looked in the bathroom mirror, she still saw her female self in it, with no signs of changing. So...

She was interrupted from her thoughts when she heard gunshots from the hall outside the bathroom. Genesis darted into one of the stalls, locked the door, and got up onto the toilet. She kept her head down and her feet off the floor so the intruder wouldn't know she was in there. But, to her horror, she heard the bathroom door open.

"Where are you, Miss Rookwood?" a gruff voice asked.

Genesis didn't dare to breath. This intruder was after her!

"Gone back into the boys' bathroom, huh?" the intruder asked. "Guess your old habits didn't die, did they?" He started banging open the stall doors one by one until he got to the stall where Genesis was hiding. He hit the door and found that it was locked. "Oh!" he said with malice. "I've found you now..."

The intruder got down on his hands and knees and crawled underneath the stall door. Which was pretty gross, but he obviously didn't care. When he stuck his head in, Genesis saw that he was dressed in all black with a helmet that hid his face. "There you are!" he said. He drew his gun and aimed it at Genesis' head. Genesis hopped down from the toilet and kicked the intruder's face. The intruder grunted and dropped his gun. Genesis took the chance to drop down on all fours and then crawl into the next stall over. The intruder grabbed at Genesis' ankles, but she evaded his grasp.

Genesis got to the end of the line of stalls and came out outside the last stall. But, unfortunately, the intruder had already gotten out of the stall and was standing in her way. "Oh, you're not gonna get away that easily," he said. He grabbed Genesis by the wrist and pinned her against the wall. "It's you I need." He drew a knife and held it up to Genesis' neck.

"What do you want?" Genesis asked.

"That's not for you to know," said the intruder.

Suddenly, the bathroom door burst open, and a policeman charged in. "Drop the knife!" he shouted. The intruder was so shocked, he did so. "Let that young lady go!"

The intruder reluctantly let go of Genesis and raised his hands in a surrender. "I was too slow," he grumbled.

"You are coming with me," the policeman said as he put the intruder in handcuffs. "Are you okay?"

Genesis nodded. She watched as the policeman escorted the now-handcuffed intruder out of the bathroom. But when they were gone, she noticed something on the floor. It was the intruder's wallet, which had fallen out of his pocket during the struggle.

"What the..." Genesis knew it was wrong to look inside other people's wallets, but she felt strangely curious. She picked up the wallet, opened it, and saw the array of cards inside. Most of them were debit/credit cards and gift cards, but there was the person's business card in the front. When Genesis read it, she almost had a heart attack.

Perry Flemming
Recruiting Agent
Pride Laboratories

***

After the school was given the all-clear signal, Genesis was taken into the office for questioning about her encounter with the intruder. Genesis told them everything-including the evidence that the guy was from Pride Laboratories.

"Pride Laboratories?" Mrs. Velasco asked.

"Yeah, I know, it's weird," said Genesis. She didn't tell her about Lucas' request of her, since that would lead to a lot of awkward questions.

"Well, we'll be getting in touch with them," said Mrs. Velasco. "See if they know anything about their employee conducting a school shooting."

Genesis said nothing. She had a pretty good idea of what would happen. Lucas would deny any involvement, but that would be a lie. He'd sent one of his employees to attack Genesis and get her blood.

"Genesis, I'm very sorry that this happened," said Mrs. Velasco. "Would you like to go home early?"

"Yes," said Genesis.

"I thought you'd say that," said Mrs. Velasco. "I'll give Ramona permission to leave early too, so she can drive you home."

***

Five minutes later, Genesis and Ramona were out in front of the school, getting into Ramona's car. "So you think Lucas sent someone to attack you?" Ramona asked.

"Yes," Genesis answered. Even though there were police vehicles surrounding the school, she still felt on edge. "He really wants my blood for his gender-changing serum."

Ramona gritted her teeth. "Too bad you have that rare form of anemia," she said. "Or else you could've just given him some of your blood with no problem."

"What are we gonna do now?" Genesis asked. "What if Lucas keeps sending people to try to force me to give him my blood? What if someone really does get hurt-or worse?"

"I don't know," Ramona admitted. "But I do know one thing: with Lucas out to get you, you're not safe."

"We need to get him blood from another man who was magically turned into a woman," said Genesis. "Once he has that, then he'll probably stop coming after me."

"Well...the only people like that are those TG celebrities," said Ramona. "Lanie Evans, Zoe Fletcher, Olivia Walker..."

"We have to track down one of them," said Genesis. "See if we can talk them into donating their blood."

"You think they'll actually do it?"

"Why wouldn't they?"

"Mmmm...."

"Look, we can't go to the police about this," said Genesis. "They'd never believe us if we told them I was a changed boy. There's literally no evidence to back us up."

"Genesis, Lucas is sending people out to hurt-and potentially kill-you. That's more than enough reason for the police to intervene."

"Lucas is a smart person. After today, he'll make sure to hire someone who's not part of his company. Maybe a local hitman or something. Then the police wouldn't be able to trace it back to him."

Ramona sighed. "I guess," she said. "So...who should we go to for their blood?"

"Not Zoe Fletcher," said Genesis. "She's a different case, because she can shift from one gender to the other. Lucas wants to make a serum that'll permanently change your gender."

"So Olivia Walker, or Saige Johnson," said Ramona.

"Or Rachel Miller."

"Rachel Miller?"

"Yeah. She's in Georgia, which is closer to here than Illinois."

Ramona nodded. "Okay," she said. "So we'll talk to our parents-"

"Are you kidding? They'd never let us do this!" said Genesis.

"You're right," Ramona admitted. "I guess I'll have to drive you to Atlanta myself."

"And someone else, too," said Genesis.

"What? Who?"

"I met someone at Pride Laboratories who used to be friends with Rachel," said Genesis. "If we take him with us, then maybe it'll increase the chances of Rachel being willing to help us."

"You think?"

"It's the best plan I have," said Genesis.

"Alright," said Ramona. "I just hope you're right about this..."

To be continued...

For the rest of the afternoon, Genesis and Ramona shut themselves in their rooms so they could gather up the stuff they needed for their road trip-changes of clothes, cell phone chargers, and books to read when they got bored. While she was packing her stuff, Genesis got out her phone and called Jesse to ask him to accompany her on her trip.

After a few rings, Jesse answered his phone. "Hey," his voice said. "Who's this?"

"It's me. Genesis."

"What...Genesis? That new intern at Pride Laboratories who walked off?"

"Yes, it's me."

"What do you want?"

"I need your help," said Genesis. "Your boss just sent a school shooter after me."

Even though she couldn't see him over the phone, Genesis could easily visualize Jesse's face contorting in disbelief. "What?" he asked. "How do you know that?"

"Remember the day I walked off, when Lucas called me into his office?" Genesis asked. "He wanted to take some of my blood for his DNA studies. I told him I couldn't do that, because I have a rare form of anemia where I can't donate blood. But he didn't want to take no for an answer. That's why he sent the school shooter after me."

"And what do you want me to do about it?" Jesse asked.

"Me and my stepsister are going to track down someone else who's a man-turned-woman," said Genesis. "Someone you know."

Jesse was silent for a count of five. "Are you talking about Rachel Miller?"

"Yes."

"Genesis...look, I really want to help you, but...do you really expect me to drive all the way down to Georgia with you and knock on Rachel's door asking her for some of her blood?"

"It's not just that," said Genesis. "You'll have the chance to reconnect with her and tell her how sorry you are."

"I don't know..." Jesse mumbled.

"Me and Ramona are leaving tonight, after our parents go to bed," said Genesis. "That's why she's taking a nap right now. So you have until 10:30 to decide."

"No, I'll go," Jesse blurted out. "Just-just come pick me up at my house. I'll text you my address."

"Alright," Genesis said as she breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much."

***

Once Genesis and Ramona had packed all their stuff, they hid it under their beds and then waited. For the rest of the evening, they tried their best to act natural. Unfortunately, that turned out to be easier said than done. When Reginald got home, he sat his daughter right down to talk about the traumatic school shooting event. Genesis tried to be patient as she answered her father's questions. Even when Paulette got in on the act, Genesis kept her cool and avoided letting it slip that she was planning on bailing that night.

Eventually, after dinner, Paulette went to get ready for bed, and Reginald followed suit. Genesis and Ramona waited half an hour to make sure the coast was clear. Once they were certain their parents were sound asleep, they snuck back into their bedrooms and got their bags of stuff. Then they went outside to where Ramona's car was parked in the driveway.

"Wait," Genesis said as she got into the shotgun seat, "What if they wake up when we start the car?"

"Maybe they'll just think it's the neighbors," said Ramona.

Fortunately, as they drove out to Jesse's house, neither Genesis nor Ramona got texts from their parents asking where they were. They drove right up to Jesse's house with no trouble whatsoever.

When they got there, Genesis went up to the front door to knock. It occurred to her that Jesse's family might be asleep, so she resorted to texting him rather than knocking. Less than a minute after she'd sent her text, Jesse answered the door. "Hey Genesis," he said.

"Hey Jesse," said Genesis. "You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

Genesis took Jesse back to Ramona's car. Since Jesse was their guest, she felt it was only fair to let him have shotgun. "Jesse, this is my stepsister Ramona," Genesis said as she opened the passenger-side door. "And Ramona, this is Jesse."

"Nice to meet you," Jesse said to Ramona.

"Nice to meet you too," said Ramona.

"So are we gonna start driving to Georgia right now?" Jesse asked.

"Yes," Ramona answered. "Do you have your license?"

Jesse nodded. "Genesis, do you have one?"

"I have my permit," Genesis answered. "But not my license."

"Don't worry," said Ramona. "I can take the first shift driving. You two can get some sleep right now if you want."

It wasn't until that moment Genesis realized how tired she was. "That sounds good," she said.

***

While Ramona and Jesse sat up front, Genesis sat in the back. Once Ramona got on the freeway, Genesis fell asleep.

When she woke up, it was still night. According to the clock on Ramona's car's interface, it was now 2:00 AM. Jesse was now driving, with Ramona napping in the shotgun seat.

"Hey," Genesis said in an undertone so as not to awaken Ramona.

"What-you're awake?"

"Yeah, I just woke up," said Genesis. "Are we there yet?"

"Depends on what you mean by 'there,'" Jesse answered.

"Well, I know it's gonna be a while before we get to Georgia..."

"We're nearing the North Carolina border," said Jesse. "Ramona stopped at a gas station half an hour ago to top off the gas and wake me up so I could have a turn driving."

Genesis nodded.

"I still can't believe we're actually doing this," said Jesse. "We're going down to Georgia so you can get Rachel's-or Lanie's-blood, and so I can see Rachel again."

"I feel like Rachel's blood would be a better bet," said Genesis. "Lanie's a witch, and if her magic shows in her DNA, then Lucas will know the blood I give him isn't really mine."

"Good point," said Jesse. After a minute of silence, he said "Was there any other reason you wanted me to come with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, just...I don't know."

Genesis frowned. "I thought you might like the chance to mend fences with Rachel," she said. "Plus, if you did, then Rachel might be more willing to help me."

"I know that. But, like..."

"What are you getting at?"

"You've been really nice to me," said Jesse. "You're not...you know. Dating anyone, are you?"

Suddenly, Genesis got it. "You think I'm interested in you?"

"Well?"

"No, that's not why I invited you!" It was all Genesis could do not to burst out laughing right then and there. "I just thought you'd be the best person to help me and Ramona!"

"Oh," said Jesse. "But seriously, are you dating anyone?"

"No."

Jesse nodded. "Then maybe, after we're done with this trip, maybe I could take you out? We could go get something to eat. See a movie. Go golfing."

"Golfing?"

"Or bowling."

Okay, Genesis thought. This was crazy. A guy was asking her out! She knew this was inevitable ever since Mirna turned her into a girl. The whole reason Mirna punished Gene was because he'd been moving in hard on girls and trying to bed them. Mirna's thought was that, when lovesick boys started hitting on Genesis, she'd learn a lesson about respecting women. And boy, did she. Wallace Mendoza, Gene's old best friend, had tried to sexually assault her at the Homecoming dance. That alone was enough to give Genesis an idea of how she'd made girls like Cassy feel when she was Gene.

Now, however...Genesis didn't feel threatened or violated at all. She'd known Jesse for some time now, and he obviously wasn't trying to hurt her. Plus, by being nice to him, Genesis had probably inadvertently given Jesse the idea that she liked him. That wasn't her intention at all. But then again, if he was offering...

"That sounds fun," said Genesis. "Heck, maybe we could do that while we're in Georgia, after we've gotten Rachel's blood."

"Sure thing," said Jesse. "Sure thing..."

To be continued...

Jesse drove until 11:00 AM the next day. By that point, Ramona had woken up. "We should probably stop for a while," said Ramona. "Let the car rest."

"Rest?" Genesis asked.

"Yeah, we've been driving it literally all night long," said Ramona. "That might not be good for it."

"I did stop a little while ago," said Jesse. "So I could top off the gas."

"That's good," said Ramona. "But we should take another stop."

"Okay," said Jesse. "But...what are we gonna do while we let the car rest?"

"I don't know," Ramona admitted. "Maybe find somewhere to go shopping?"

As if in answer, Genesis saw a mall just off the freeway. "There," she said. "We can go check that mall out."

"Sounds good," said Jesse.

***

Jesse got off the highway and found a parking place right beside the mall. He, Genesis, and Ramona went into the mall, but they found that they had no idea where they wanted to go. There were just so many shops in the mall, it was impossible to know where to start.

"Maybe we should get some food," said Genesis. "I'm getting really hungry."

"Me too," said Jesse.

Ramona opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when she saw something that caught her eye. "Hey," she said. "That crystal place looks cool."

"Crystal place?" Genesis followed Ramona's gaze and saw a small store called Purple Star that sold crystals, shiny rock sculptures, and geodes.

"Yeah," said Ramona. "I kind of wanna check it out."

"Why don't you go ahead?" Jesse suggested. "You can meet us in the food court later."

"Alright," said Ramona. "Have fun."

While Ramona went to check out Purple Star, Genesis and Jesse went downstairs to where the food court was. Here again, they weren't sure where to start. The food court offered sandwiches, pizza, Mexican food, heated pretzels, and crepes. "Uh...where should we go?" Genesis asked.

"Wherever you want," said Jesse.

Genesis looked between the options for a minute before saying "How about crepes?" she said.

"Alright then," said Jesse.

They ordered two egg and sausage crepes and a plain cheese crepe for when Ramona caught up to them. Once they'd gotten their crepes, Genesis and Jesse sat down at a table in full view of the mall's main hallway. They knew that that way, it would be easy for Ramona to find them. "Well," said Jesse, "Looks like it's just the two of us here."

With a start, Genesis realized what this was really about. Jesse just wanted to have some alone time with her for a "date" of sorts. Then again, after their conversation last night, Genesis should've known he'd pull something like this. "Yeah," she said. "I guess so."

"So Ramona says you used to be a boy," said Jesse. "Is that right?"

"Yes," said Genesis. "I used to be Gene Rookwood, but then a witch turned me into a girl."

"That's what Ramona told me," said Jesse. After a moment's hesitation, he asked "Does this feel awkward at all? Going on a date with a guy?"

"I mean...not really?" said Genesis. "I am female now, so I'm probably supposed to be dating guys."

"Not necessarily," said Jesse. "You know about Zoe Fletcher?"

"Yes."

"I read that she still liked girls after her transformation."

"That's what I read, too."

"So...you don't still like girls even after being changed?"

"Well...maybe part of me still does," said Genesis, "But for a little while now, I've been looking at boys a little different."

"Really?"

"It's complicated," said Genesis. "At first I didn't feel attracted to guys, because I kept having guys hitting on me and trying to sexually harass me."

"Ooh. That's rough."

"That's an understatement," Genesis said with a shudder. "When Wallace Mendoza-my former best friend-pulled up my skirt and then tried to grab my boobs-that was traumatic."

"I feel you," said Jesse. "One time I was at a party, and a girl tried to grab my...you know."

"Ouch."

"Are you still getting hit on?"

"A little. But not as much as before."

"That's good."

"But lately I've been feeling kind of attracted to boys. Like, I haven't had a crush on anyone, but...I kind of...want to have a boyfriend? Like, obviously, it might make other guys stop hitting on me, but...it just kind of feels right. A guy needs a girlfriend, and a girl needs a boyfriend."

"I get it," said Jesse. "I told you before that sometimes I feel kind of lonely, and part of it is not having a girlfriend."

"Is that why you wanted to take me out?"

"Kind of," Jesse admitted. "We did get along pretty well at Pride Laboratories, and you did invite me along for you and your sister's road trip. So I figured, I don't know, maybe it would be worth a shot."

Genesis smiled. "Well, maybe when we get back, we can have an actual date," she said.

"Oh, so this isn't an actual date?"

"Well...I mean, like, maybe we can try making it official and see how it works out. You can introduce me to your family, and I can introduce you to mine."

"That sounds good," said Jesse. He ate the last bite of his crepe and looked out at the mall's main atrium. "What's taking Ramona so long?"

"I don't know," said Genesis. She glanced up at the line for the crepe store and noticed a familiar-looking man among the line. For a second, she had trouble placing who it was-but then she realized it with a start.

"Jesse," Genesis said tensely. "We've gotta go."

"What? Why?"

"I think I just saw Lucas Jacobson!"

Jesse's eyes widened. "What?"

"Come on! Let's find Ramona and get back to the car!"

Jesse turned and saw Lucas in the crepe line, and he was frozen with fear. "Come on!" Genesis repeated. But then Lucas turned and saw them. When he did, he smiled and approached them.

"Well, well, well," said Lucas. "It really is a small world."

Genesis' blood turned to ice. "How did you find us?" she asked.

"I didn't," said Lucas.

"You're lying," said Genesis. "You sent that school shooter after me. And then you just happen to run into us at the mall in North Carolina?"

Lucas smiled knowingly. "When you have the resources I have, you can do some wondrous things," he said. "I was able to track the phone calls and texts Jesse made on his phone."

"You what?" Jesse asked.

"Did you think I didn't know that you were forging a friendship with Genesis? It was very easy to observe-especially for someone whose job is to moniter you in my workplace. So when Genesis walked off, I felt you were the most likely person she'd try to stay in contact with. Since you'd given me your cell phone number when I hired you on as an employee, it was easy to trace your calls. And even easier to track your cell phone."

When Jesse didn't respond, Lucas turned to Genesis. "Now, we don't have to use any unnecessary force," he said. "All I need is some of your blood."

"I can't give it to you," Genesis reminded him. "I've told you why."

"And I've told you I can cover any medical bills needed for your condition," said Lucas. "Come on, now. Think of how many trans women-and men-will benefit from this. You'll be doing the trans community a huge service."

"No," said Genesis. "I won't do it for anything." She jumped up from her chair and ran from the crepe store with Jesse right on her heels.

"Come back here!" Lucas shouted as he ran after them.

Genesis didn't bother heeding his words. She pushed her way through a clump of people and ran for the escalator up to the upper level. She started running up the escalator, but for some reason, she didn't seem to be going any higher. Rather, she seemed to be at the same level as before. It took a minute to realize she was going up the wrong escalator-the one that was going down instead of up!

"Genesis, look out!" Jesse warned from the right escalator. Genesis looked over her shoulder and saw that Lucas was bearing right down on her. She backtracked, ducked to avoid Lucas grabbing her, and then started up the escalator going up. She and Jesse ran all the way up to the mall's upper level.

When Genesis reached the top, she had to falter when she felt a stitch in her side from all the running. But right when she was about to start running again, she felt a strong hand grab her shoulder. "I have you now," said the voice of Lucas Jacobson.

Genesis froze with fear. She had stayed still a second too long. Ordinarily, she'd try to break free of Lucas' grip, but she'd forgotten how to move.

"Hey!" Jesse shouted. He threw his cell phone at Lucas' head, and bulls-eye! It hit him right in the face with the force of a baseball. Lucas was so stunned, he loosened his grip on Genesis. Genesis found her strength and pushed Lucas off of her and into the escalator that was going down. Lucas stumbled and fell onto the escalator as it started to take him downstairs.

"What's going on?" Genesis and Jesse turned to see Ramona approaching them with a large, shiny amethyst in her hand.

"Lucas found us," said Genesis. "We've gotta get out of here!"

Ramona didn't need to be told twice. She, Genesis, and Jesse ran for the exit and came out into the parking lot. They raced over to Ramona's car and quickly piled into it. The moment everyone had closed their doors, Ramona shifted the car into Drive and pulled out of the parking lot. She came to an intersection right near the freeway entrance and ran the red light to get on the highway. Several passing cars honked their horns, but somehow Ramona avoided getting hit. She got on the freeway and floored the gas until they were going ninety miles an hour.

It was almost ten minutes before Genesis caught her breath. "That," she panted, "Was close." She heard the car beeping and realized she hadn't even put her seat belt on. She promptly put on her seat belt.

"How did he even find us?" Ramona asked.

"He tracked my cell phone," said Jesse.

Ramona's eyes widened. "Then you'd better get rid of it," she said.

"I did. I threw it at Lucas in our little fight back there. And I didn't bother picking it up."

"Good."

"Will he try tracking my phone?" Genesis asked.

"Did you give Lucas your phone number at all?"

"I don't think so."

"Then you might be fine," said Jesse. "For now."

"But if he tracked our calls and texts, does he know we're going to see Rachel Miller and Lanie Evans?"

"I think he might," Jesse said ruefully.

"So what do we do?"

"We'll just have to get to Georgia as fast as we can," said Ramona. "Maybe, just maybe, we can find Rachel before Lucas finds us again."

To be continued...

After the encounter at the mall, Genesis, Jesse, and Ramona were extremely paranoid. As they drove, they kept an eye out for any cars or vans that might be following them. They didn't see any, but they were still on edge. If Lucas knew they were heading for Atlanta, then he was probably heading there, too.

It took another two days to reach Atlanta. In the late afternoon of February 1, 2024, Ramona got off the highway and entered Atlanta. "Here we are," she said. "Atlanta."

"Rachel Miller lives in an orphanage, right?" Genesis asked.

"Yes," Jesse answered. "The Orphanage For All Ages."

"All ages?" Ramona asked. "Does that mean they have adults living there, too?"

"No," said Jesse. "It's just called that so people our age feel better about living there."

"But surely they have an age limit," said Ramona. "Won't they?"

"Well, Rachel and Lanie-and their other friend Jenny-got admitted to the orphanage when they were fifteen," said Genesis.

"Jenny was younger than them," said Jesse. "I think."

"Oh yeah," said Genesis. "But if it's only been, like, a year, then Rachel will be about sixteen or seventeen by now. If the Orphanage For All Ages only accepts people under 18, then Rachel will probably still be there. Same with Lanie." She got out her phone and entered the Orphanage For All Ages into Google Maps. Once she'd started the navigator, she put it on the dashboard for Ramona.

Twenty minutes later, Ramona parked in front of the Orphanage For All Ages. "Here we are," she said.

Genesis and Jesse got out and looked up at the Orphanage For All Ages. It was three stories high, and looked like a pretty nice place. Genesis could see why Lanie and Rachel had decided to stay here after their witch-fighting adventures. "I can't believe it," said Jesse. "The place where my best friend moved to, and I'm actually here."

"You ready to see Rachel again?" Genesis asked.

"I don't know," Jesse admitted.

"You'll be okay," Ramona assured him. "We'll all go in together."

And that was what they did. Genesis, Jesse, and Ramona entered the building and found a lady at the front desk. "Hello," the lady said. "How can I help you?"

Since Jesse was too anxious to say anything, Genesis spoke. "We're here to see someone," she said. "Is Rachel Miller here?"

The front desk lady smiled. "Why, yes she is," she said. "She and Lanie do get a lot of fans coming in to meet them."

"Where is she?"

"She's upstairs in her quarters, I believe," the lady said. "I'll go up and get her for you."

"Please do."

"I'll have you wait in the rec room."

So Genesis, Jesse, and Ramona all sat in the orphanage's rec room. As they sat on the couch, they watched as a guy played a video game on the TV. "Hey," the guy said. "Did I hear you're here to see Rachel Miller?"

"We are," said Genesis.

The guy grinned. "She loves meeting her fans," she said.

"What's your name?" Jesse asked.

"Aaron," the guy answered.

"Nice to meet you," said Jesse.

"Where are you from?" Aaron asked.

"Me and my sister are from Virginia," said Ramona.

"What-you're sisters?" Aaron looked between Genesis and Ramona with disbelief, since they didn't bear any resemblance. Ramona had blonde hair and a deeper tan, while Genesis was more pale-skinned with lower cheekbones and dark hair.

"Stepsisters," Ramona backpedaled.

"Ah," said Aaron. Turning to Jesse, he asked "What about you?"

Before Jesse could answer, the lady from the front desk came into the room. "Here's Rachel," she said.

The lady stood aside to let Rachel enter the room. Genesis had seen pictures of Rachel on the news, but being in the same room as her felt surreal. Rachel looked just like her pictures, with long black hair, warm brown eyes, and smooth facial features. She wore a light blue tank top and dark green short shorts. She was a little shorter than Genesis always pictured her, though. Then again, she'd heard that was often the case with celebrities.

"Well hello," said Rachel. "It's always nice to..." She trailed off when she saw Jesse, and her smile faded. "What the..."

Jesse just stared at Rachel. Ever since they'd left Virginia, he'd been contemplating how he might reconnect with her, but now that he was faced with her, he'd forgotten how to speak.

"Jesse? Is that you?"

That snapped Jesse out of it. "Yes," he said. "Hi Rachel."

"But what are you doing here?"

"I just...I wanted to tell you I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?"

"Yes, I'm sorry. For everything."

Rachel stared at Jesse in disbelief. "It's been, like, five years now," she said. "And you're only now coming crawling back to me?"

"Rachel, I didn't mean to hurt you like I did," said Jesse. "I really didn't. But I've been living with the guilt for years now. After you became famous, I felt even worse. I haven't made any real friends since you and I fell out, and I've been pretty lonely. And then when these two wanted to come down to meet you..."

"These two?" Rachel repeated. She looked between Genesis and Ramona and said "You came all the way down here with these two?"

"Yes."

"I'm a TG girl too," said Genesis. "Like you."

Rachel's annoyance evaporated on the spot. "You are?" she said.

Genesis nodded.

"Finally, I get to meet another girl like me!" Rachel whooped. "And in person, too!"

"Have you really not met any other TG girls?" Ramona asked. "Besides Zoe and Olivia and Saige?"

"Not in person, no," said Rachel. "After we all became famous, more TG girls started to come forward with their stories about how they'd been boys who were cursed by witches."

"Oh yeah," Jesse murmured. "I remember reading about that."

"Me and Lanie and Olivia were talking about setting up some kind of online support group for TG girls who couldn't get changed back for whatever reason," Rachel went on. "We haven't gotten very far with it, but we're hoping we can talk to the right people who can make it a reality."

"I could've used something like that," said Genesis.

"Why? What happened to you?"

"Well, I got turned into a girl as punishment for sexually harassing my girlfriend," Genesis explained. "She told her boss, who was a witch, what happened, and then her boss cursed me. And her boss was murdered before she could change me back."

"That's horrible," said Rachel.

"It was," said Genesis. "And now her nephew's chasing after me trying to get my blood."

"What?"

My ex-girlfriend's boss' nephew-his name's Lucas-he wants to use my blood to make a serum that can turn men into women," Genesis explained. "I told him I couldn't give him my blood because I have a rare form of anemia, but he wouldn't listen. He's been stalking me and trying to get my blood."

"Why does he want your blood so badly?" Rachel asked. "Why didn't he just come to me, or Lanie, or Saige, or Olivia?"

"He said something about not wanting to rely on other celebrities to become famous," Genesis answered. "I guess he wants to use blood from a TG girl who's unknown, so it looks like he developed the serum entirely on his own."

"That's...kind of stupid," said Rachel. "He could've just messaged Lanie or Olivia and asked them to keep their involvement secret."

"I know," said Jesse. "It's a wonder Lucas was able to become a certified scientist."

"But that's the real reason we came here," said Genesis. "I wanted to ask if I could get a sample of your blood to pass off as my own. That way Lucas will stop coming after me, and he'll be able to develop the serum that he wants so badly."

"And because I wanted us to be friends again," Jesse added. But when Rachel gave him a dirty look, he immediately regretted it.

"So it's my blood you need," said Rachel.

"Yes."

Rachel thought for a minute, then nodded. "I can give some to you. I'll see if the doctor's office is still open so they can draw my blood."

"Thank you, Rachel. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome..." Rachel started.

"Oh! I didn't introduce myself!" Genesis realized. "My name's Genesis. And this is my stepsister Ramona."

"I'm not a TG girl," said Ramona. "I was born female."

"It's nice to meet you," said Rachel.

"You too," said Genesis. "Is Lanie here, too?"

"No," said Rachel. "She's on a date with Conner Hawkins. But I'll text her and tell her that I had some...visitors."

When Jesse heard the somewhat contemptuous tone with Rachel's last word, he got defensive. "Rachel, I'm really sorry!" he repeated. "I didn't mean for it to be this awkward!"

Rachel sighed. "I'm sorry, Jesse. I guess I'm being rude."

"I didn't want to throw our history away," Jesse went on. "When we were younger, we were so close. You saw how sad I was when I thought you'd died. Looking back, I realize how hard it must've been to transition to being a girl, and having a friend from your old life might've been the best thing you could've had. But when you tried to tell me, I just...I just..."

"I understand," said Rachel. "I felt guilty, too, for not trying to tell you sooner."

"Really?"

"Really. For a while, I wished I could've done things differently. But it's been so long now that, really, it doesn't matter anymore. I've built up an even better life here in Georgia, with Lanie and Conner and Diana and all my other friends."

"And me," Aaron added.

"Yes, and you," Rachel affirmed. "And I have a boyfriend now."

"Oh, that's right," said Genesis. "Miles Reddick. Zack Fletcher's best friend."

Rachel nodded. "I feel so much happier now," she said. "Randy Miller could never have dreamed of the life I have now."

Jesse's face fell. "So...you're saying that...you don't want to be friends again?"

"Well...it sounds kind of harsh when you say it like that," said Rachel. "But what my shift to being female taught me is that sometimes, shit changes, and you have to just move on."

By this point, Jesse couldn't even look Rachel straight in the eye. "I-I understand," he forced out. He stood up and took one last look at the girl who used to be a boy who used to be his best friend. "Farewell, Randy." And with that, he left the room.

Genesis glared at Rachel. "Really?" she asked. "He came all this way to see you again, and you shot him down?"

Rachel frowned. "I didn't mean to be so harsh," she said. "I was just so taken aback. I didn't think I'd see him again...well, ever, really. I'd already moved on a long time ago. But then he comes back saying he really misses me..."

"I'd better go talk to him," said Genesis. She got up and went after Jesse.

Now Ramona was left in the room with Rachel and Aaron. "Rachel, I understand," she said. "I know you..."

"Don't worry," said Rachel. "I...I've got to go...call the doctor's office."

Rachel left the room before she could start crying.

To be continued...

It didn't take long for Genesis to find Jesse. Right when she stepped out of the Orphanage For All Ages, she saw Jesse just standing there on the edge of the sidewalk. His head was hung, and he was staring off into space, as if he didn't even care where he was or where he was going.

"Hey!" said Genesis.

Jesse turned and saw Genesis. "Hey," he said.

"Jesse, I'm so sorry," said Genesis. "I didn't know that she'd..."

"It's not your fault," said Jesse. "I shouldn't have even come here."

"Don't say that."

"Rachel didn't even want to see me. I just..."

Genesis looked down the street and noticed a frozen yogurt shop at the end of the corner. "Look, how about we go get some frozen yogurt?" she offered. "Maybe that'll help get your mind off things?"

"I guess..." Jesse reluctantly followed Genesis as she led him down the street toward the frozen yogurt place.

Neither of them noticed the black Honda Civic that rounded the corner and stopped when it saw them.

***

Genesis and Jesse entered the frozen yogurt place. It was fairly small, but then again, it was a frozen yogurt shop. Those usually weren't very big.

The two of them filled up their cups with frozen yogurt, sprinkled them with candy bits and chocolate syrup, paid for them, and then sat down. Genesis watched as Jesse miserably picked at his frozen yogurt. "It's all my fault," Jesse mumbled. "I shouldn't have been such a dick."

"Jesse, you were only, like, twelve or thirteen," said Genesis. "A lot of guys are dicks at that age. I should know."

"Or maybe I should've tried DMing her on Twitter. Or X, or whatever it's called now." He shook his head and added "Oh, who am I kidding? Celebrities never respond when you try to DM them!"

"Sometimes they do," said Genesis. "One time I replied to Taylor Swift's Instagram story, and she liked my message."

"Really?"

"No," Genesis admitted. "I'm just trying to make you feel better."

Jesse sighed. "Want the rest of my frozen yogurt?"

"Oh, Jesse," said Genesis. Seeing him do depressed stirred something inside of her. She hadn't admitted it until now, but she'd felt attracted to Jesse ever since she met him. And seeing him feel vulnerable gave her an urge to hug him and give him love to make him feel better. "I know it feels like it's the end of the world, but you'll be okay."

"You think? Rachel was, like, the only friend I thought I might have left. Well, except you..."

"See?" said Genesis. "You still have me." She slowly reached her hand towards Jesse's and gently took it. "A hot, sweet girlfriend."

Jesse's eyebrows shot up. "What? Did you just call yourself my girlfriend?"

"Yes," said Genesis. "What, are we not there yet?"

"No, it's okay," said Jesse. "I mean...look at us. We are kind of out on a date."

Genesis smiled. "I know," she said. "And once we get back, we'll make it official."

"How touching," said a new voice. Genesis and Jesse's smiles faded when they saw who it was. It was Lucas Jacobson, who had just walked into the frozen yogurt store.

"Oh my fucking glory," said Jesse. "How did you even find us this time?"

"It wasn't hard to figure out your destination," said Lucas. "Why else would you be going south, other than to try to talk Lanie Evans or Rachel Miller into giving you their blood? And then I saw you entering this frozen yogurt place, and I knew I'd found my target."

"You know, now that you're here, maybe you could get Rachel's blood yourself," said Genesis. "She already agreed to go to the doctor to have her blood drawn."

Lucas wilted. "Oh," he said, making no effort to hide his disappointment.

"Cheer up," said Genesis. "At least you'll get the TG DNA you'll need for your serum. Right?"

"Genesis...I've told you how I feel about this. I don't want to have to rely on existing celebrities to become famous."

"So you want to just start from the bottom and claw your way up?"

"That's what always happens. Taylor Swift, Michael Jackson, Donald Trump...so many celebrities started from the bottom, just like you and I. And if you're not willing to work hard to attain fame, then you don't deserve to be famous."

Jesse rolled his eyes. "Even if that's true, is it really worth stalking Genesis halfway across the country? And causing a ruckus back in that mall?"

"Trust me, I didn't want to do this either," said Lucas. "But sometimes you have to take extreme measures."

Genesis started to inch away from Lucas. "Jesse," she said, "We're gonna have to..."

"FREEZE!" a gruff male voice shouted. Lucas whirled just in time to see three policemen bang through the door. Lucas frantically put his hands up as the policemen pointed their guns at him.

"Are you kids okay?" one of the policemen asked.

"Yes," Jesse answered.

The policemen got out a pair of handcuffs and fastened them around Lucas' wrists. "So you're the one who initiated that brawl in North Carolina," one of the policemen said. "I saw a news article about that. And then I got a report to keep an eye out for a person who fit your description."

"Yes," Lucas admitted.

"And then we're stationed on duty when we get a call that you were sighted right near where we were stationed."

"You got a call?" Genesis asked. "Who called you?"

As if in answer, Ramona entered the frozen yogurt place. "I did," she said. "I came out to find you guys, but then a car drove by, and I recognized Lucas driving it."

Lucas' eyes were starting to well up. "You don't understand," he said. "I really need your blood for my serum. All my life, I've wanted to be a woman. My mother was a widower, and she couldn't afford daycare, so she took me with her to her job as a seamstress. She let me try on the clothes she wore, and I found myself loving the girly things. The older I got, the more I felt like I was more feminine than masculine. I wanted so badly to be a woman. Not a fake trans woman, but a true woman. The serum I've been developing would've been the answer to all that. And I would've become a hero to the trans community."

Genesis looked at the policemen and just shrugged. "What can I say?" she asked. "He's kind of crazy."

"So I see," said the policeman. "Which is why I think he might be sentenced to an insane asylum."

The policemen hauled Lucas out to their car to take him off to be charged for his crimes. When they were gone, Genesis, Jesse, and Ramona all breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, I guess that takes care of that," said Ramona.

"So now what? We just...go back home?" Jesse asked.

Genesis looked back in the direction of the Orphanage For All Ages. "Not yet," she said. "We should get Rachel's blood. Then we can give it to Pride Laboratories so they can at least finish the serum."

Jesse sighed. "I think you're right," he said. "I guess, that way, Lucas' work will still be able to help trans people."

To be concluded...

The next morning, Genesis, Jesse, and Ramona met up with Rachel again at the Orphanage For All Ages. This time, Rachel had Lanie Evans with her.

"So you're Lanie," Jesse said when he saw Lanie for the first time.

Lanie smiled. "Yes I am," she said.

"It's nice to meet you," said Jesse.

Rachel handed the vial that contained her blood to Genesis. "This is the blood that the doctor drew from me last night," she said. "I hope this'll be enough to finish the serum."

"Thank you," said Genesis. "Thank you so much."

Rachel turned to Jesse. "And Jesse, I owe you an apology."

"Uh...for what?"

"For hurting your feelings. I know you've really missed me, and I know you've been lonely ever since we fell out."

Jesse sighed. "You're right," she said.

"I didn't mean to hurt you. I really didn't."

"It's okay. I understand. You've kind of...moved on after everything."

"Well...yes, I did," said Rachel, "But after you walked off last night, I felt really bad. When I became a girl, I basically ended up ditching you. And now you say you don't have any real friends."

"I didn't," said Jesse. "But I have a girlfriend now." To prove his point, he grasped Genesis' hand.

"Aw!" Lanie crooned.

"Oh, you're dating her now?" Rachel asked.

"We made it official," said Genesis.

"That's great," said Rachel.

"Yeah," said Jesse. "But as for you, Rachel..." He exhaled deeply. "Once again, I'm sorry. But at the same time, thank you. For everything."

"Thank you too," said Rachel. She and Jesse hugged each other deeply. "I won't forget the good times I had with you when I was Randy."

"Me either," said Jesse. When he broke apart from Rachel, he said "If this is goodbye, then I wish you the best."

"You too," said Rachel. "And you too, Genesis and Ramona."

"Goodbye," said Genesis.

***

The drive back to Virginia was long. But when they did get back, things were a hassle to say the least. For starters, Genesis and Ramona had missed a week of school, which meant a lot of schoolwork to make up. Their friends, especially Charlotte, Cassy, and Modesty, had also been concerned about them. The girls had to fill them in on the whole story of their adventure and their affair with Rachel Miller. But, of course, the real trouble came with Genesis and Ramona's parents. At first, Reginald and Paulette were furious at their daughters for taking off on a harebrained adventure by themselves without consulting them first-and roping in Jesse to boot! Fortunately, it didn't take long for their anger to morph into relief that they were okay. And the fact that Genesis had scored herself a boyfriend made Reginald and especially Paulette happy.

Of course, since Jesse went to a different school from Genesis, it wasn't always easy to see him every day. But they did text and call one another regularly, and they got to go out every weekend. And one night, two weeks after they got home from their adventure, Jesse actually invited Genesis over to his house.

Jesse's parents weren't home, so he and Genesis got to eat dinner by themselves. As they ate on the living room couch, Jesse told Genesis about how he'd given Rachel's blood to the scientists at Pride Laboratories and the progress they were making. "They've completely reverse-engineered the genome," Jesse said as he ate his bowl of pasta. "They found the part of Rachel's DNA that deals with her changed gender."

"And?"

"They think they know how they can integrate it with clownfish DNA to give the human genome the ability to change gender," said Jesse. "With a few more weeks of research, they'll probably have the gender-changing serum ready."

"Wonderful," said Genesis. "Lucas is finally gonna have his dream."

"I don't think so," said Jesse. "He wanted to be famous for creating a gender-changing serum. But by now he's probably locked up in an asylum for his crimes. Even if he did become 'famous,' he won't have a very good reputation."

"Maybe they should avoid mentioning that Lucas Jacobson worked to develop the serum," said Genesis. "Then that would give them bad publicity."

"Definitely," said Jesse. "If anything, they should mention you. If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have gotten the blood sample they needed for the serum."

Genesis smiled. "And you, too. It's thanks to both of us."

"Oh, yes," said Jesse.

Neither of them were sure what happened next. All Genesis knew was that Jesse affectionately grabbed her hand, and then she pulled him in for a kiss. Before she knew it, Genesis started to feel aroused. She found herself running her hand over Jesse's crotch and feeling something she'd felt on herself when she was Gene.

It was an erection.

"Whoa!" Jesse said when he felt Genesis feeling his penis. "What are you..."

Genesis smiled seductively. "Your parents are gone, aren't they?" She could feel her old hornball persona from when she was a guy rising back up to the surface, but she didn't care. Jesse was her boyfriend, after all.

"Well, I guess so," said Jesse. He ran his hand over Genesis' boobs, causing her to moan in delight. She grabbed the strips of Jesse's pants and underwear and pulled them down, revealing his throbbing penis and balls. Then she reached down and undid her own pants.

Genesis closed her eyes, anticipating what was to come next. She gasped when she felt Jesse's penis enter her vagina. Oh, what a pleasant sensation it was! Her entire lower body was overrun with an energy not like anything she'd ever felt-even when she was Gene and masturbated every once in a while. She felt Jesse literally inside of her, rubbing on her G-spot and setting off hormones she didn't even know she had. After a minute of this wonderful feeling, Genesis felt something else building up down there. With a huge gasp, she felt herself come.

When Jesse pulled out, it was almost painful to have the amazing sensation gone. She and Jesse both lay on the couch, panting from all the moaning and thrashing. "You...you're not on birth control, are you?" Jesse asked.

"Who cares?" Genesis asked. "Wasn't that fun?"

Jesse smiled. "Yes, it was," he confessed. "And it kind of made us feel more...official. Like, now that we've had sex, it's like..."

"Like we really are a thing," said Genesis. She rolled over and hugged Jesse.

"Oh, Genesis," said Jesse. "I love you."

"I love you too," said Genesis. She felt so lucky to have a boyfriend like Jesse.

***

And that's the end of the sequel to The Most Extreme Punishment. If you're still here, thank you for making it this far. Like I say every time, I appreciate people reading my stories and giving comments/kudos. And, once again, any feedback on this story/serial would be appreciated. Especially if I end up writing a third one in this series. (Be on the lookout!)